Frost

26

The news about Gray grew quickly throughout Magnolia. And in under just two days, Gray's name was being spoken about all over Fiore. Eventually, guilds from all over had search parties looking for the missing ice mage. Gray himself had no idea about any of this, for he was stuck in a dark, tunnel-like place that seemed like it never ended. He was staring to panick.

Gray would have bursts of sprints every now and then. The first few hours involved him walking, and he would eventually run into a wall of condensation-covered rocks. He was sure he had to be covered in bruises and scratches, for his body was sore, and he felt small burning sensations all over his arms, knees, and even on his face. Now, he kept one arm in front of him at all times. Even walking was a little problem. After not being able to walk in his actual body, Gray felt like he would collapse at any moment. His knees felt like they were locked, but after a while of walking around he felt fine. The ice mage grew tired quickly, too. He just wasn't used to moving around all the time.

It has been three days since Gray had woken up. He was starving, dehydrated, and tired. When he was a ghost—or whatever—he didn't have to deal with this problem. In fact, he thought he would never eat again after that experience. Now, he was starving and was in the mood to eat anything.

"I think I'm going crazy . . ." Gray spoke to himself. He was sitting on a rock. His head was resting in his hands, and he was drenched with sweat. The air was just so humid! He could cool it down if he wanted to, but he wanted to feel the heat after not being able to for so long. It only reminded him of his best friend, whom he wanted to see so badly. Only seeing the image of Natsu's face in his mind motivated him to keep going. If Natsu were in his position, he would probably search every nook and cranny in the tunnel for an exit. So, Gray stood up and continued walking.

Gray continued to think about Natsu—how he would use his magic to make light. That would be the dragon slayer's advantage. So maybe Gray could use his ice as an advantage? The ice mage stopped walking and closed his eyes before releasing a freezing energy from his body. Since the rocks had condensation on them, maybe he could freeze the walls so that the temperature in the cave would drop to save him from using too much magic power. Then he would be able to tell if he was near an exit by the warmth radiating from the outside. Gray did just that. He reached for a wall next to him and felt a pretty solid layer of ice. He smiled and continued walking.

It was a little while before Gray started to feel the air become a bit cooler. However, the ice on the walls was staring to melt, and soon the melted ice would make the ground slippery. Gray has to find a way out quickly. The ice mage began to run through the tunnel. There were times when his left arm would crash into a wall of slick ice, but Gray kept moving. However, it wasn't long before Gray had enough of the running. He took in deep breaths and leaned against a wall. He looked around the tunnel, and it wasn't long before he found out he was at an intersection. The intersection was the shape of a V, and if he kept running the he probably would have hurt himself pretty badly.

He looked down the first tunnel, which looked no different than the rest of the area. However, there was a change in the second tunnel. To Gray, there seemed to be a tiny bright light further down the tunnel. It seemed like it was a good idea—it was his only chance at getting out as of now! A tired smile appeared on his lips, and he started running again.

•••

"Natsu! I'm tired!" Happy complained. The cat was practically running on zero bars of energy at the moment. After Lucy shared the news of Gray with the guild, Makarov sent small search parties of two to go look for Fairy Tail's missing ice mage. It was just Happy, Natsu, and Lucy. "Shut up, Happy . . ." Lucy yawned. "Don't even say the word." Lucy was practically sleep walking. Her eyes closed every now and then, and there were times when she snored randomly. But the celestial mage did not want to admit to the fact that she was tired. Her steps were slow. Lucy's only time of sleep was during their thirty minute breaks that Natsu ruled, and she would grow stubborn when she had to wake up.

The dragon slayer, however, kept moving.

Despite the fact of having not slept for three days, Natsu seemed pretty energized, all though Happy or Lucy could not tell if he was tired or not. He wouldn't deny that he was worried, though. During their breaks, Natsu would stay awake and think about how Gray was doing, what Gray was doing, or where Gray was. When he was invisible, Natsu at least knew where he was. And according to Porlyusica and her little example, Gray had to be close by. However, he was no where to be seen in Magnolia, and none of the neighboring towns have seen him yet. Who knows, Gray could be dead! But Natsu didn't believe it one bit.

He would find Gray.

"Natsu, can we please take a break?" Happy begged. His wings were failing every now and then. Lucy was on the brink of collapsing due to her lack of sleep. The exceed had no idea how his companion was standing tall. Natsu was truly determined to find his best friend. "Just give us a day and we will be up and energized enough to keep going! Who knows, maybe another group might have found him!" Happy was desperate and was ready to continue his argument. However, Natsu stopped walking. Lucy fell to the ground.

"I'm not stopping. If you are able to, fly Lucy home. You can rest, but I won't sleep until Gray is found," Natsu's voice was shaky, and it made Happy's eyes widen. He realized that Natsu really did care for Gray.

"You really do lo-" Happy started, but Natsu ran off before he could finish. The blue exceed sighed and looked down at the sleeping celestial mage. He bit the inside of his cheek.

"I can't carry her! She's too heavy!"